US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon meet in Anchorage, Alaska, for a crucial and high-stakes summit. The meeting is not only considered important for the ongoing war in Ukraine, but it could also have an impact on global diplomacy. The meeting is scheduled for Friday at 11:30 am Alaska time (3:30 pm ET).
The talks will take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a major US military hub located just 700 miles from the Russian border. The base houses about 30,000 military personnel, their families and civilian employees, and is considered an ideal location from a security perspective.
Putin’s visit is considered historic, as it is the first time an elected Russian president will visit Alaska. The US bought this area from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. If this visit is completed as planned, it will be Putin’s eighth visit to the US during his tenure, which began in 1999.
This summit is taking place at a time when there is a lot of tension in international relations. On the one hand, the future of Ukraine is in crisis, while European countries are feeling a huge threat from Russia. In this context, the absence of representatives of Ukraine and the European Union is raising many questions. Analysts believe that this dialogue can bring a big turn in the relations between America and Russia, the direction of which is still uncertain.
Although the official agenda of the meeting has not been made public yet, officials from both countries have indicated that the Ukraine war will be the main topic of discussion. Apart from this, issues like security, arms control and global stability can also be discussed.
This conference is considered very important not only for US-Russia relations but also for the changing global balance of power, especially at a time when the Ukraine crisis has destabilised the direction of world politics and the role of traditional alliance groups is being challenged.
How US President Donald Trump Reacted To It?
Ahead of his Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Putin is now ready to pursue peace.
“I think President Putin will make peace and President Zelenskyy will make peace,” Trump told reporters.
Asked if the US is prepared to offer Putin access to rare minerals as an incentivise to end the war, Trump replied, “We’re going to see what happens with our meeting. We have a big meeting. It’s going to be, I think, very important for Russia, and it’s going to be very important for us and important for us only that we’re going to save a lot of lives.” “But what I’m really doing this for is to save thousands of soldiers a week,” he added.
Looking beyond the Alaska talks, Trump outlined plans for a follow-up meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, possibly joined by European leaders. He called that session potentially more important than the first.
“We’re going to see what happens. And I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelenskyy will make peace. We’ll see if they can get along. And if they can, it’ll be great,” he added.
